54% of voters blame parents for border family separations

Saturday, June 23, 2018

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Michael F. Haverluck (OneNewsNow.com)

The latest nationwide poll on the intensifying illegal immigration debate shows that more than half of American voters blame the separation of children from their families at the United States-Mexico border on parents – not President Donald Trump.

Rasmussen Reports polled 1,000 likely American voters via phone and Internet on June 19–20 and found that – as opposed to the mainstream media’s extensive coverage of protesters blaming Washington for separating families at the border – most blame illegal immigrant parents for putting their children at risk.

“When families are arrested and separated after attempting to enter the United States illegally, 54 percent of ‘likely U.S. voters’ say the parents are more to blame for breaking the law,” Rasmussen Reports revealed. “[O]nly 35 percent believe the federal government is more to blame for enforcing the law, [and] 11 percent are not sure.”

Regardless of these latest numbers, President Donald Trump felt compelled take extra measures this week to protect children from suffering the consequences of their parents’ problematic choice to break into the U.S. illegally, while parents continue to evade being punished according to the law.

“Despite President Trump signing an executive order allowing adults to be detained with children after crossing into the United States illegally, the outrage over his administration simply enforcing the law continues,” Townhall reported. “While the President's executive order allows children to be detained with adults, zero tolerance prosecution for entering the country illegally continues.”

Red warm, blue cold when it comes to Trump’s border policies

A breakdown of the survey between political parties shows that conservatives are more likely to blame parents for jeopardizing temporarily losing their children – by irresponsibly and illegally breaking into the U.S.

“[A poll analysis shows] that 82 percent of Republicans and 56 percent of voters not affiliated with either major political party feel the parents are more to blame for breaking the law,” Rasmussen noted. “But 60 percent of Democrats say the government is more to blame for enforcing the law.”

And even though three out of four Democrats insist Trump’s tough-on-immigration policy is too harsh, the average American does not believe his handling of the border is over-the-top.

“Seventy-five percent (75 percent) of Democrats think the Trump administration is too aggressive in trying to stop the flow of illegal immigrants into the United States – a view shared by only 23 percent of Republicans and a plurality (46 percent) of unaffiliated voters.” Rasmussen pollsters found. “Among all voters, 49 percent say the administration is too aggressive trying to stop illegal immigration [and] 25 percent say it’s not aggressive enough, while 21 percent view the administration’s policies as about right.”

Breaking down Americans take on immigration further

Statistics prove that most Americans are behind Trump on immigration and are fed up with America bearing the weight of the world’s so-called refugee crisis – which they see as taking a detrimental toll on the economy and national security.

“Fifty-four (54) percent agree with President Trump when he says, ‘The United States will not be a migrant camp and it will not be a refugee-holding facility – it won’t be,’” the researchers shared. “Thirty (30) percent disagree, while 16 percent are undecided.”

In fact, more Americans today have confidence in Trump’s handling of America’s illegal immigration crisis than they did under former President Barack Obama and his lax border policies that critics say pandered to the minority vote.

“Forty-four (44) percent of voters said in April that Trump is doing a good or excellent job handling issues related to immigration,” Rasmussen pointed out. “This is higher approval than President Obama earned on this issue at any point during his time in office.”

A further analysis by gender and race shows that there are some distinct demographic divisions when it comes to contending who is to blame for family separations at America’s southern border.

“Men and those 40 and over are more likely than women and younger voters to blame the parents when families are separated after attempting to enter the United States illegally, [while] most whites and other minority voters agree, [and] blacks are closely divided,” the statistics indicated. “Women, voters under 40 and black voters are also the most likely to think the Trump administration is too aggressive when it comes to trying to stop the flow of illegal immigrants into this country.”

Most who hold immigrant parents accountable for being separated from their children at the border do not believe the president is going overboard when it comes enforcing the law on immigrants who break it.

“Just 22 percent of voters who blame the parents more for the children crisis think the Trump administration is too aggressive in trying to stop illegal immigration,” Rasmussen noted. “Among those who blame the government more, 87 percent feel that way.”

In fact, a majority of Americans giving Trump a thumbs-up for his work in the Oval Office believe he should be even tougher on illegal aliens.

“Fifty-three (53) percent of voters who ‘strongly approve’ of the job the president is doing think his administration is not aggressive enough when it comes to fighting illegal immigration,” researchers stressed. “But 89 percent of those who ‘strongly disapprove’ of the job the president is doing say the administration is too aggressive.”

More agreement with the president abounds when it comes to changing up the way America deals with illegals.

“Just over half (52 percent) of all voters favor the immigration reform plan detailed by Trump in his State of the Union speech that would create a pathway to citizenship for those brought to this country illegally when they were children, build a wall on the Mexican border and change legal immigration to a more merit-based system,” Rasmussen added.

America weighs in on more immigration issues …

Aside from what ultra-liberal politicians of some major U.S. cities and states proclaim, most Americans are opposed to living in communities that are declared “sanctuaries” for illegal aliens to evade the law and remain in the country without the threat of law enforcement deporting them to their countries of origin.

“Only 37 percent say they want to live in a sanctuary community that protects illegal immigrants from federal immigration authorities,” the poll’s report stated.

Sentiments about DACA (Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals) and building a 2,000-mile continuous wall along America’s southern border with Mexico were a bit different this spring.

“In mid-March – prior to the current children crisis – 51 percent said creating a pathway to citizenship for those brought to the country illegally when they were children should be done first,” Rasmussen recounted. “Twenty-four (24) percent said we should first build a wall on the Mexican border to stop further illegal immigration, while 19 percent thought they should both be done at the same time.”

It was also discovered that Americans are getting fed up with Mexico being content with letting its proliferating drug cartel problems spill into the U.S.

“Voters here are strongly critical of Mexico’s efforts to keep illegal drugs and illegal immigrants out of the United States, and just over half agree with the president that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is a good weapon to use to make our southern neighbor clean up its act,” Rasmussen researchers added.

In an effort to resolve all of the back-and-forth over the immigration issue, officials in Washington on both sides of the political specturm are currently striving to come to an agreement next week on exactly how to handle America’s escalating illegal immigration crisis.

“In the meantime, Congress is working on a number of immigration bills in an attempt to fix the problem,” Townhall’s Katie Pavlich informed. “The House is expected to take a vote Thursday, with moderate and conservative Republicans split on a number of illegal immigration issues.”

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